Sports Roundup: Lady Sandites Still Undefeated, Wrestling Falls to Bixby

Hailey Jackson scored 31 points for the Sandites against Broken Arrow.

This story was originally written by Scott Emigh for the Sand Springs Leader.

The last time the Sand Springs girls basketball team won ten straight games to start the season, it went on to win conference, regional, and area championships.

Whether this year’s eighth-ranked Lady Sandites reach similar heights remains to be seen, but they are still undefeated after meetings with No. 10 Broken Arrow and Bartlesville this week.

The Sandites picked up a 66-46 win over the Tigers (6-4, 2-2) Tuesday night at the Ed Dubie Field House before traveling to Bartlesville for a 55-37 win against the Bruins (3-7, 0-4) to improve to 5-0 in Frontier Valley Conference action.

Junior star Hailey Jackson went off for 31 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 steals against the Tigers, while Journey Armstead contributed 15 points. Layne Kirkendoll added 8 points and 9 rebounds. 

“(Jackson)’s just coming along and playing hard,” said head coach Josh Berry. “I’ve always said she had the potential to be that good.”

The Sandites led by as much as 28 points early in the fourth quarter before sending in the backups. 

Friday’s game started a little slower, but the Bruins never led after the first quarter and the Sandites ran away with a 22-4 third quarter to put the game safely out of reach. 

“Every game for us in this conference, you’ve got to prepare for it,” said Berry. “If you’re not ready to play, you can get beat. Especially the way we play. We’re a defensively oriented team, so if we don’t come ready to play every night, we can get beat by anybody.”

Armstead scored 23 points with 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists. Jackson scored 8 points with 10 rebounds and Kirkendoll added 6 points with 11 rebounds. 

The Sandites will host Muskogee (1-6, 0-3) Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. before competing at the Jenks/Union tournament Thursday through Saturday. They will play Jenks (2-5) on Thursday before taking on either Trinity Christian or No. 1 Edmond North (10-0) on Friday.

Boys Basketball

The Sandite boys team (3-7, 0-5) is still looking for its first conference win of the season after falling 70-47 to Broken Arrow and 82-54 to Bartlesville this week.

On Tuesday the Sandites were led by Jason Clark with 10 points and Cale Askew with 9 in the home loss to No. 6 Broken Arrow (8-2, 4-1). Clark and Alijah Roper scored 12 apiece against No. 14 Bartlesville (6-4, 3-2).

Sand Springs will get its first unranked opponent in over a month when they play Muskogee (2-6, 0-3) on Tuesday. They will then travel to Catoosa for the Port City Classic with a Thursday matchup against the home team (9-4) at 8:30 p.m.

Wrestling

On Thursday the Sandites (3-1) suffered their first loss of the season, falling 47-24 to No. 5 Bixby (5-1). 

David Ritchey and Colt Hood pinned their foes to start the dual, then Zander Grigsby and Jayden Pait won decisions for an 18-0 lead against last year’s Dual State Runners Up.

The Spartans won the next eight matches, however, before Mason Harris collected a fall at heavyweight to end the night. 

Sand Springs will return to action Tuesday at Union with a district triple-header against No. 10 Ponca City (1-2), No. 15 Union (1-4), and Edmond Deer Creek (0-3). The Sandites won five district titles in a row from 2016 to 2020 before coming up short last season.

The Sandite junior high team placed second at the Perry tournament over the weekend with three finalists.

Kase Skaggs, Kaden Pope, and Ryley Kester all placed second and Dawson Briscoe, Jaxon Grigsby, and Jaxon “Scout” Trotter placed third.

Ty Pennington commits to Pitt State

Charles Page High School senior quarterback Ty Pennington has committed to play for Pittsburg State University, an NCAA Division II school in Pittsburg, Kansas. The Gorillas went 8-3 this past season.

Pennington will follow in the footsteps of his position coach, Darrack Harger, who previously held two Sandite records that Pennington broke. Harger played for the Gorillas from 2012 to 2013.

Pennington shattered the Sand Springs football record books this season.

His 2831 passing yards this year beat Cody Hale’s 2012 record of 2416. His 27 passing touchdowns beat Hale’s record of 22, set in 2012 and matched in 2013. His 39 total touchdowns beat Payton Scott’s 2017 record of 34.

In career totals, Pennington’s 6455 passing yards beat Harger’s record of 4813 from 2009-2011, his 54 passing touchdowns beat Hale’s record of 44 from 2012-2013, and his 79 total touchdowns beat Scott’s record of 71 from 2015 to 2017.

Sandite football went 8-4 this year, falling 20-17 to Edmond Deer Creek in the Class 6A-II semifinals. The Sandites went 2-8 under Pennington his sophomore year and improved to 7-5 in 2020.

Pennington picked the Gorillas over offers from the University of Central Oklahoma, Missouri Southern University, Washburn University, the University of Central Missouri, and East Central University. He also had a preferred walk-on offer from Oklahoma State University.

The two-sport star will compete on the Sandite baseball team this spring.

Mitchell Smith wins Cushing Tournament, Sandites undefeated in duals

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The Charles Page High School wrestling team (3-0) is off to a hot start in 2022, winning duals against Jenks and Perry in dominant fashion. 

The Sandites steamrolled Jenks 67-9 with nine pins on Tuesday, January 4th, then sabotaged 3A No. 11 Perry’s homecoming 60-12 on Thursday before competing at the Cushing Tiger Invitational over the weekend.

Junior standout Mitchell Smith secured his second tournament title of the season, three other Sandites medaled, and the team earned 11th place out of 31 teams.

Smith (16-2) has won 13 matches in a row since a fourth-place finish in the season-opening Perry tournament, including taking first place and the Outstanding Wrestler accolade at the Cabot tournament last month.

“I think he’s going to surprise somebody at the end of the year,” said fourth-year head coach Jarrod Patterson. “There’s a lot of really tough wrestlers around his weight, but he’ll surprise one of those guys. He’s a beast on top. He’s got a little work to do on bottom, but overall he’s gotten a whole lot better over the last year.”

With the postseason only a month away, Smith has his eyes set on the State tournament. 

“I’ve qualified two years in a row and I haven’t placed yet, so I really just hope to place this year,” said Smith. 

For the first time since 1998, the Sandites didn’t have anyone medal at last year’s State tournament, despite qualifying four. “We’re definitely all motivated to go get it this year,” Smith said.

At Cushing, Smith pinned his first two foes in the first period, then built a 7-0 lead against Skiatook State Runner-Up Isaac Long before pinning him in the 145-pound semifinals. He wrapped up the tournament with a 5-4 decision over Sperry State Champion Brady Benham.

“If it weren’t for (Coach Patterson) I don’t think I’d be where I am right now on my feet,” said Smith. “He’s probably the best technician coach in the state in my opinion.”

Smith also credits his training partner Ethan Norton with pushing him to the next level, as well as his dad, Kelly Smith, for helping him on the mat.

Eli Kirk, a two-time State-placer from Guthrie, put an end to Zander Grigsby’s undefeated start to the season. The sophomore bounced back in the 120-pound consolation bracket, however, and pinned Cushing’s Daniel Herndandez for third place.

Jaxon “Scout” Trotter took fourth place at 138 and Mason Harris placed fifth at 285, pinning Blackwell State qualifier JD McCleary in only 39 seconds.

The Sandites have been leaning heavily on their underclassmen this season. 

“It’s a good group of kids,” says Patterson. “I enjoy coaching them. They all come in and work hard, and you can already see the improvement throughout the year. I’m excited for that group.”

Next week will prove even tougher for the Sandites, who host No. 3 Bixby (1-1) on Thursday before hosting the 57th annual Bobby Lyons Invitational Friday and Saturday.

“Our tournament’s real tough. We’ll have Bixby, Owasso, Stillwater, and district duals coming up, so we’ve got a tough road ahead of us,” said Patterson. 

“They’re working hard and wrestling good, so we’ll see. A couple of the kids were out sick, so if we can get them back on the mat and get everybody healthy, we should be alright.”

The Junior Varsity team placed 22nd at the Inola Tournament, led by Jesse Moore in fourth place and Ayreson Reiss in sixth place.

For the Keystone Kids wrestling club: Hudson Waag, Jase Morgan, Maddix Spencer, Ty Galloway, Mylum Ache V, Ryder Black, and Ryley Kester all won their divisions at the Bedlam Battle in Stillwater. 

Lady Sandites roll Booker T. Washington 60-40, Boys fall 69-58

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

After a tournament victory and day at the beach, the Charles Page High School girls’ basketball players didn’t get off their plane from Florida to Tulsa until nearly 1:00 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Jet lag and sleep deprivation couldn’t hold them back from a 60-40 drubbing of No. 14 Booker T. Washington, however.

The No. 8 Sandites struggled for all of four minutes before finding their offense and soon imposed their will on the Hornets (3-6 overall, 1-2 conference) in the second quarter.

Marcayla Johnson scored on the Hornets’ first two possessions while the Sandites missed on their first five field goal attempts, and the home team led 5-0 before Journey Armstead’s layup broke the seal on the Sandites’ basket.

Washington took a 10-9 lead into the second quarter after a three-pointer from Aunisty Smith, but the visitors outscored them 15-4 from there for the halftime advantage.

The home team played a close third quarter and only trailed 39-27 to start the final stanza, but Taiona and Leyshia Morris combined for three threes and the Sandites soon had the game comfortably put away.

The Sandites improved to 8-0 for the first time since 2017 and are on their longest win streak of the Josh Berry era. It also marked Berry’s first win against his alma mater since arriving at Sand Springs.

“It is my alma mater, but it just feels good to get a win here,” said Berry. “I knew this was going to be a tough one. Two days of not playing, not practicing, and then getting off the plane at one o’clock, so I’m just proud of them. They just fought through it and found a way to win.”

Armstead led all scorers with 16 points and 6 rebounds, Leyshia Morris had 12 points, Hailey Jackson scored 11 points with 8 rebounds, and Layne Kirkendoll scored 8 points with 7 rebounds and 4 blocks.

The Sandites outperformed the Hornets in every statistical category but free-throw percentage, combining for 29 rebounds, 10 steals, and 11 assists, while shooting 47% in the field.

“We’ve got some players that are stepping up and getting better and better each and every game,” said Berry. “We just need more players to keep stepping up and staying positive.”

Sand Springs’ closest margin of victory this season was 17 points in the season opener against Owasso, and they’re winning by an average of 34 points per game.

The Sandites are 3-0 in Frontier Valley Conference action and will return to action Tuesday against No. 12 Broken Arrow (4-3, 2-1). The Hornets will look to snap a four-game skid Tuesday at 5A No. 2 Sapulpa (5-2, 2-1).

CPHS 60 BTW 40
1Q: BTW 10-9.
2Q: CPHS 15-4.
3Q: CPHS 15-13.
4Q: CPHS 21-13.
Free Throws: CPHS 7-of-12, BTW 9-of-19.
Field Goals: CPHS 24-of-51, BTW 14-of-42.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 7, BTW 6.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 22, BTW 17.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 29, BTW 23.
Steals: CPHS 10, BTW 8.
Blocks: CPHS 4, BTW 3.
Fouls: CPHS 13, BTW 14.

Scoring: (CPHS) Armstead 16, L. Morris 12, Jackson 11, T. Morris 9, Kirkendoll 8, Wilson 4. (BTW) Smith 14, Johnson 9, Hill 7, Owens 4, Delouiser 4, Mayberry 2.

Boys Basketball

Unranked Sand Springs (3-5, 0-3) played tough against undefeated No. 13 Booker T. Washington (6-0, 3-0) Tuesday night, but fell short 69-58 at Nathan E. Harris Field House.

The Sandites only trailed 18-15 after one quarter and 34-30 at the half, but the Hornets opened the second half on a 19-2 run for a lead that the Sandites couldn’t quite overcome. 

Jason Clark scored 17 for the Sandites, followed by Ethan Oakley with 13 points and 7 rebounds, and JD Dickson with 11 points and 6 rebounds. 

Aaron Potter led all scorers with 21 points and Kam Parker had 16 for the Hornets.

Sand Springs will host No. 5 Broken Arrow (6-2, 2-1) Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. as they look for their first conference win of the season. Booker T. Washington will compete at the Bartlesville Tournament this weekend.

BTW 69 CPHS 58
1Q: BTW 18-15.
2Q: BTW 16-15.
3Q: BTW 23-11.
4Q: CPHS 17-12.
Free Throws: BTW 10-of-13, CPHS 10-of-12.
Field Goals: BTW 27-of-75, CPHS 22-of-46.
Offensive Rebounds: BTW 17, CPHS 6.
Defensive Rebounds: BTW 12, CPHS 29.
Total Rebounds: BTW 29, CPHS 35.
Steals: BTW 18, CPHS 3.
Blocks: BTW 1, CPHS 3.
Fouls: BTW 13, CPHS 15.

Scoring: (CPHS) Clark 17, Oakley 13, Dickson 11, Askew 7, Kelly 5, Johnson 5. (BTW) Potter 21, Parker 16, Chambers 9, Boone 8, Johnson 8, Ware 3, Smith 2, Oates 2.

Lady Sandites sweep Tampa Bay Invitational, Armstead named MVP

This story was originally written by Scott Emigh for the Sand Springs Leader. Photos courtesy of Becky Tanner.

It’s beginning to look like a special season for the Charles Page High School girls’ basketball team.

A 53-32 tournament finals win over Eustis, Florida (5-7) Saturday night at the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational elevated the Sandites to 7-0 for the first time since 2017.

The Class 6A No. 9 ranked Sandites earned their second tournament title of the Josh Berry era, and first since 2019, after steamrolling three Florida foes in the Anna Maria Island division.

101 girls basketball teams competed at the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational over the holiday break in 14 separate tournament brackets, including Tulsa’s Union High School who placed third in their bracket.

“We got to see some pretty good competition,” said Berry. “We got to see some speed. The first two games they had some guards who were really really fast, so that was good.”

The Sandites rolled to a 52-17 win over Florida 6A No. 5 Bloomingdale (11-3) Wednesday, December 29th. Sand Springs only led 15-9 after the first quarter, but shut down the Lady Bulls’ offense from there and outscored them 20-2 in the second period.

Journey Armstead led all scorers with 13 points, followed by Hailey Jackson with 12, and both girls did all of their damage in the first half. 

The Sandites picked up a 54-27 win on New Year’s Eve against 4A No. 13 Cocoa (10-3), holding the Tigers to only 13 points entering the fourth quarter.

Armstead once again led all scorers with 16 points over three periods, followed by Jackson with 13.

“I think we played better the first two days than we did that last day,” said Berry. “We got in foul trouble within the first few minutes of the game.”

“We couldn’t make any shots, and then defensively we just played horrible the first half. We couldn’t guard, we couldn’t find our man – we just didn’t play our regular basketball the first half.”

Despite the rough start, the Sandites surged ahead with a 34-18 second-half performance against the Panthers to remain undefeated on the season.

Jackson led all scorers with a career-high 21 points, all in the second half, while Armstead contributed 16.

Armstead was named tournament MVP and both she and Layne Kirkendoll received college offers from scouts attending the tournament.

“I think (Sakauri) Wilson’s defensive pressure in the first two games really gave their best players some fits. Taiona (Morris) had some good moments as well, and we had some great productivity from the bench, whether it was getting steals, diving on the floor, making some shots to open it up. Layne really had a pretty good day of rebounding and blocking shots and controlling the paint area.”

Sand Springs will return to action Tuesday with a Frontier Valley Conference road game at No. 14 Booker T. Washington (3-2, 1-1). The Sandites are 2-0 in conference play this season but are still looking for their first win against the Hornets under Josh Berry.

CPHS 52 Bloomingdale 17
1Q: CPHS 15-9.
2Q: CPHS 20-2.
3Q: CPHS 13-4.
4Q: CPHS 4-2.
Scoring: Armstead 13, Jackson 12, T. Morris 8, L. Morris 6, Walker 5, Kirkendoll 4, Tanner 3, Martin 1. (Bloomingdale) Alevin 5, Mengel 3, Dialle 3, Kendrick 2, Kanuer 2, Womack 2.

CPHS 55 Cocoa 27
1Q: CPHS 13-5.
2Q: CPHS 10-3.
3Q: CPHS 19-5.
4Q: Cocoa 14-13.
Scoring: (CPHS) Armstead 16, Jackson 13, Kirkendoll 7, Wilson 6, T. Morris 6, Walker 4, L. Morris 3. (Cocoa) Green 11, Zidor 6, Barrene 4, Stanley 3, Pratt 2, Ammons 1.

CPHS 53 Eustis 32
1Q: CPHS 9-4.
2Q: CPHS 10-10.
3Q: CPHS 16-10.
4Q: CPHS 18-8.
Scoring: (CPHS) Jackson 21, Armstead 16, Kirkendoll 8, T. Morris 5, Wilson 3. (Eustis) Brown 14, Rolle 8, McKinley 5, Seward 2, Brooks 2, Douglas 1.

Sandite Wrestling

The Keystone Kids wrestling club can claim yet another national champion. 

Hudson Waag took home first place in the 46th annual United States Junior Open Championship Saturday night at the Oklahoma City fairgrounds.

Waag recorded decisions of 18-16 and 10-4, and pinned three opponents, including a 19-second fall in the finals to win the 37-pound bracket in the Six and Under age division.

Kason Wolfe placed fourth in the Eight and Under division at 55 pounds, and Bailey Copeland placed fifth in Girls’ 12 and Under division at 73 pounds.

Sandite Volleyball coach Derek Jackson moving on to Claremore

Derek Jackson speaks to Jacelyn Smith during a match against Broken Arrow in 2019. (Photo by Scott Emigh).

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The winningest volleyball coach in Sand Springs history, percentage-wise, is moving on to greener pastures.

After a three-year stint as Charles Page High School’s head coach, Derek Jackson is moving to Claremore to take over one of the top programs in Class 5A. 

While Jackson has nothing but good things to say about his time in Sand Springs, the Claremore opportunity was too good to resist.

“The biggest thing was just the teaching opportunity that I got,” said Jackson, who has been teaching eighth-grade science at Clyde Boyd Middle School. 

“I went to college for fitness and physical education, and that’s kind of what I’m going to be able to get to teach at Claremore. So I’m excited to get to teach what I actually went to college for, what I think I can do a better job at.”

On top of that, Jackson and his wife Skylar, a Broken Arrow assistant coach, are expecting their first child.

“I think it’s going to be a little less stressful, especially with a kid on the way.”

The two currently live in Broken Arrow, so the commute to Claremore won’t be any worse than his previous drive to Sand Springs. 

The Red Zebras are coming off a 24-17 season and State Tournament appearance under Kimberly Mabbott, who went 30-41 in her two year tenure as head coach.

Jackson came to Sand Springs by way of Clinton, where he was head coach for two years. A Kellyville native, the Sand Springs job brought him closer to home while giving him the opportunity to coach in Oklahoma’s largest classification.

Jackson went 51-49 overall during his three years in Sand Springs. His 19-15 run in 2020 and 18-14 first season rank as the second and third-best seasons in school history.

“I think early on it was just trying to change their identity and how they saw themselves,” said Jackson. 

“They had a couple of years where it was pretty rough there. I don’t think they were excited to take on big challenges like big teams like Broken Arrow and Bixby. So just getting them to the point where they thought they were winners, I think that was our first step.”

This year the Sandites finished 14-20, winning their home tournament for the second time in the past three years. Those are the team’s only two titles since 2010. 

Jackson is the only Sand Springs coach to leave the school with a winning record. Sydney Bond went 7-18 in 2018, Janna Green went 65-78 from 2014 to 2017, and Caleb Horton went 37-93 from 2010 to 2013. Records from before 2009 are hard to come by.

Whoever is next up to the plate will have a solid foundation to work from. 

“I think Rod (Sitton), hat’s off to him,” Jackson said of the Sand Springs Athletic Director. “He really trusted me from the get-go of really everything. I mean fundraising to scheduling to player management.”

“He really trusted me to do just about everything and kind of backed me rather well. So I really appreciate that, and I think it allowed me to be me and helped get those kids and the program where we wanted it.”

“I think I’ve set a lot of groundwork for the next person to come in because of not just focusing on varsity, but you know, really doing a lot of little kids camps and pushing to start that seventh grade program. Just kind of trying to set up long-term success. I think they’ve got a good base under themselves.”

The program has been trending upwards over the past decade, despite the occasional downward swings due to large graduating classes or brutal schedules. 

Claremore, meanwhile, will be getting its new coach sooner rather than later. After closing out the semester at Sand Springs, Jackson will be taking over at Claremore following Christmas Break. 

“He did a great job for us,” said Sitton. “We hate to see him go, but nobody’s going to fault somebody for bettering themselves and going to better opportunities.”